Ian Alexander Bruder Hay, who was charged with the brutal assault of a woman who lived with him in Harris County in November, apparently left the country two weeks after posting bond last year and was found dead in a murder-suicide involving the same woman in Brazil over the weekend, according to Brazilian authorities and Harris County records.
Polícia Civil do Paraná, or PCPR, told KPRC 2 News they got called to the top floor of the high-rise building on Sunday after a neighbor reported seeing a blood stain in a different unit.
“Neighbors noticed blood stains in their apartment. At the scene, two bodies were found ... slumped over the bed,” said Magda Hofstaetter, one of the chiefs in the PCPR’s homicide division. “Neighbors reported hearing the gunshots but thought they were fireworks.”
Police believe Hay shot and killed the 27-year-old South African woman, identified as Leigh Anne Mckenzie, before taking his own life.
Mckenzie had just arrived in Brazil on July 18, one day before being murdered, according to Joao Mario Goes, communications director for Paraná State Public Security Secretariat in Brazil.
A motive is still under investigation, but Hofstaetter said they haven’t ruled out a possible connection to a Houston crime.
Hay, 30,is accused of assaulting Mckenzie, who lived with him at a northwest Houston apartment, according to records. The two had reportedly just met that month.
He allegedly threw an object at her that hit her head and caused a laceration to her right temple, punched and slapped her multiple times in the face, wrapped his arms around her neck from behind, and impeded her breath for about a minute, according to Harris County records.
She was diagnosed with a fractured spine at the hospital and had bruises all over her body. He is a twice-convicted felon in Texas, according to records, for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and for driving while intoxicated.
At the time of his arrest, Harris County prosecutors asked for Hay to be put on house arrest and be required to wear a GPS monitor if he were to be released on bond, according to records.
But Judge DaSean Jones did not approve those conditions when he signed a bond order 10 days later, modifying the conditions to require mental health treatment. Another approved bond conditions was to not use or possess a firearm.
Hay posted a $50,000 bond on Nov. 21, 2024, according to records, and Mario Goes told KPRC 2 News he entered that country, where he also held citizenship, two weeks later on Dec. 5, 2024.
Hay did not show up for a January court date, records show, and he became a wanted fugitive.
“The young lady was lucky that she survived an extremely brutal attack,” said Andy Kahan, director of victim services for Crime Stoppers of Houston. “This is just another situation in which we’re treating someone, as a domestic violence victim, as somebody who really didn’t merit the strictest and toughest bond conditions.”
KPRC 2 News reached out to Judge Jones’ office but so far has not received a response.
“It perhaps could have been preventable if we had put stricter bond conditions,” Kahan said.
Authorities in Brazil said they found a 9mm pistol, ammunition, cocaine rocks, hundreds of syringes used for substance abuse, two magazines with extenders for 30 rounds each, a spiral magazine with a capacity of 50 rounds, six cell phones, two precision scales, a computer, a pocket knife, watches, and jewelry inside the apartment.
Hofstaetter told KPRC 2 News there’s no evidence that Hay coerced Mckenzie to come see him in Brazil. Her mother allegedly told police that she met Hay last year in the United States when she came to visit an ex-boyfriend, but didn’t share additional details about their relationship.
Reached by phone, the attorney hired to represent Hay in the domestic assault told KPRC 2 News he didn’t wish to speak about his client or the situation. Later in the day, records showed he withdrew from the case.
Investigators in Brazil are still awaiting a forensic analysis and said so far haven’t been able to get a response from American law enforcement.
